Peter Malkin
Peter Zvi Malkin ( ), (May 27, 1927 – March 1, 2005), was an Israeli secret agent, and member of the Mossad intelligence agency. Malkin was part of the team that captured Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960 and brought him to Israel to stand trial. Biography Malkin was born in Lower Silesia, a province of Germany prior to 1945, currently Zolkiewka, Poland, to an observant Jewish family.Samuel Schafler, Hadassah Magazine October 1990, p. 37, review of Eichmann in My Hands, Peter Malkin and Harry Stein In 1936, his family fled to Palestine to escape the rising tide of German anti-Semitism; his sister, Fruma, and her three children who remained behind with 150 other relatives, died in the Holocaust. At the age of twelve, Malkin was recruited into the Haganah. In 1950, he was invited to join the new Jewish state's fledgling security service as an explosives expert. Mossad career Malkin spent 27 years in the Mossad, first as an agent and later as Chief of Operations. As Chief of Operations he played a major role in the capture of Israel Beer, a Soviet spy who had penetrated the highest levels of Israeli government. He also led an operation against Nazi nuclear rocket scientists who assisted an Egyptian weapons development program after World War II. Malkin's most famous mission was on May 11, 1960, when he and a team of Mossad agents led by Rafi Eitan captured Adolf Eichmann, a top Nazi official who played a principal role in organizing the Shoah (Nazi Holocaust), in Argentina. "One moment, sir" were the words he uttered as he approached Eichmann on the shoulder, before wrestling him to the ground and putting him in the getaway car. In 1989, Israeli newspaper Maariv cited him as "one of the greatest figures ever in the history of the Mossad." Israeli journalist Uri Dan called him "an extraordinary secret warrior." He is said to have been involved in the search for Yossele Schumacher in the 1960s . Later years After retiring in 1976, Peter Malkin devoted his time to painting, a profession he used as a cover during his Mossad years. He has also authored five books, and served as a private international consultant on anti-terrorism methods. The movie, "The Man Who Captured Eichmann" (1996) starring Robert Duvall as Adolf Eichmann, was based on his book.Malkin's official site More recently, Evan M. Wiener has written a play, Captors, inspired by the book.[http://catf.org/2012-season/the-plays Captors at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia] Malkin spent his last years in New York with his wife Roni and their three children. He died on March 1, 2005. Published work *''Eichmann in My Hands'', 1990, Peter Z. Malkin & Harry Stein (ISBN 0-446-51418-7) References External links * Obituary: Spy who captured Eichmann * Leon Charney interviews Peter Malkin on Leon Charney Reports Category:1927 births Category:2005 deaths Category:Polish Jews Category:Jews in Ottoman and British Palestine Category:Israeli Jews Category:Israeli civil servants Category:People of the Mossad bs:Peter Zvi Malkin ca:Peter Malkin cs:Peter Cvi Malkin de:Peter Zvi Malkin es:Peter Malkin he:צבי מלחין ru:Малкин, Питер fi:Peter Malkin